Paul Mescal has been our #1 Sad Boy onscreen since Normal People, and we love him for that. But it’s time for him to join forces with Ayo Edebiri and give us the rom-com of our (and all of Ireland’s) dreams. Mescal and Edebiri must crack the Emily Henry Cinematic Universe wide open and never look back.
Why? Let’s start at the beginning.
In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, The Bear star posted a photo with Mescal on her Instagram Story and set the Internet ablaze. Edebiri and Mescal were all smiles as they cozied up for the photo.
But then, a plot twist. New York Times bestselling author Emily Henry posted the photo of Mescal and Edebiri on her Instagram Story.
The Paul Mescal and Ayo Edebiri photo in question. (Instagram)
Let’s connect even more dots. Yulin Kuang, the screenwriter for Beach Read, posted the same photo on her Instagram Story, just days after Henry shared a photo of the Beach Read script. Also, Henry’s Book Lovers adaptation is teaming up with Tango Entertainment, which produced Aftersun, the movie that earned Mescal his first Oscar nomination.
I’m sorry, but this is not just a coincidence. It’s a cute photo for sure, but something’s brewing.
Fans immediately started wondering if Henry and Kuang’s reposts meant that Mescal and Edebiri could be starring in one of the upcoming film adaptations of her books: Book Lovers, Beach Read, or The People We Meet on Vacation. Honestly, we would take Edebiri and Mescal in any one of these, but here’s why it could (and should) be Beach Read.
Beach Read, published by Henry in 2020, follows the opposites attract love story between January Andrews and Augustus “Gus” Everett. January, a hopeless romantic, is a chick-lit writer still mourning the loss of her father and a breakup. She moves into a beach house for the summer and crosses paths with Gus, a brooding novelist and a former college rival whom she’s pegged as a total cynic.
To overcome their writer’s block, January and Gus make a deal to write a book outside of their comfort genres. Gus will try his hand at romance, while January will write serious literary fiction. From there, sparks fly. Not only that, but January and Gus bond and heal over past traumas and secrets.
(See, doesn’t he look exactly like you envisioned Gus?!)
Beach Read includes incredible banter between Gus and January, which Mescal and Edebiri would chew up. Gus and January have an undeniable chemistry from the start. Mescal and Edebiri already have chemistry in spades, and we’ve just seen them in photos together. The chemistry just radiates from them. Check and check.
These charming actors would effortlessly balance the comedic and dramatic elements of Gus and January’s relationship. After all, Edebiri is an Emmy winner, and Mescal is an Oscar-nominated actor. Plus, starring in a Beach Read adaptation would allow them to officially enter the rom-com world.
A rom-com is what they want, so why not give them a whip-smart romance to work with? After seeing Edebiri’s movie Bottoms, Mescal knew immediately that he wanted to work with her.
“That’s one of those I leave the cinema and I’m incredibly jealous and brightened by everybody’s talents involved with that film,” Mescal told Awards Watch. “But I think in the next five years I’m going to set myself a challenge to do maybe a rom-com with Ayo, or something like that would be cool.”
Just weeks after Mescal’s interview, Edebiri gave us even more hope for an Edebiri-Mescal rom-com in an interview with the outlet. “Honestly he’s one of my favorite actors to watch, period. I actually said, so, is someone writing a script for us now, or what? So that’s my answer, if somebody writes us a good script. I think he’s so brilliant, and I honestly would also really enjoy seeing him try his hand at comedy,” she said.
Same, Ayo. Same. We need them to set aside their cooking apron and Gladiator sword for a spell and bless us with a rom-com that would become an instant classic. Let’s use that lucky Irish energy to manifest this casting until it comes true.